


Writer's block

by Set_WingedWarrior



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Inktober, Inktober 2018, honestly it's not a shipping thing, you can see the relationship however you want, your call
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 09:02:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16238411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Set_WingedWarrior/pseuds/Set_WingedWarrior
Summary: Blank pages, ready to be filled with his ideas, used to be his best friends. They never betrayed him before; why now? Why now that he actually needs them for the next comic he and Nathaniel were supposed to make? Sure, disappointing him and their readers was a terrifying thought, but not as terrifying as not being able to express himself anymore.Inktober Day 8Prompt: impasse





	Writer's block

**Author's Note:**

> When I started this Inktober I wanted to make something from a different fandom everyday. Then I realized it was madness, so here comes my second for this fandom, enjoy!

_This is a nightmare_

Marc stared at the blank page, wrote something, then tore it and threw it in the trash along with many others.  
He didn't understand, what was going on?

Blank pages, ready to be filled with his ideas, used to be his best friends. They never betrayed him before; why now? Why now that he actually needs them for the next comic he and Nathaniel were supposed to make? Sure, disappointing him and their readers was a terrifying thought, but not as terrifying as not being able to express himself anymore.

This was his first time experiencing something like that. It was painful, senseless and came out of nowhere. How was he supposed to fight and beat something when he didn't know _where_ it came from? He didn't even know _what_ it was.

With his shaking hand, he tried once again to write something, but dropped his pencil before it could even touch the paper. It was useless, his head hurt, and he clearly wasn't going anywhere.  
He passed his hands through his hair and took deep breaths.

_Come on Marc, you can do this. You already did it countless times, you can do it again. You are NOT going to let everybody down._

Despise his attempts to self-support, he actually just got himself even more anxious.  
This clearly wasn't the best way to get out of whatever that situation was, since his breathing got even more irregular.

_I need to get out of here!_

All of a sudden he was up, marching out of the art room, to get fresh air, some water, literally anything that could help him feel better. So he put his hood on and headed towards his secret spot under the stairs, unaware of the fact that he was being followed.

Marc sat on his spot, then proceeded to lay down not caring about the dirt on the ground of the school. Face up to the ceiling, he lost himself staring at the void in front of him, completely lost in his thoughts.  
Then a friendly face appeared, staring at him from above.

“Are you okay?” 

Marc jumped up, his connection with his mind breaking abruptly “Nathaniel! What are you doing here???” 

“I am just checking on you” he replied, sitting beside him on the ground “is everything alright? I saw you struggling pretty hard today” 

“W-was it that obvious?” the shy boy asked, a hint of panic running into his eyes. 

“I work right next to you, you know?” 

“Yeah, you're right” he answered, genuinely surprised. He wasn't writing alone. He wasn't creating alone anymore. He still needed to get used to that. “It's just, I haven't been able to write a word all day. And I don't understand what's happening but if I can't get out of this we won't be able to make our next comic and I don't want to let you down!” 

“Hey hey, relax Marc, you're not letting anyone down!” 

“I am... not?” 

“Exactly. I think what you're experiencing is an art block. It happens to all artists sometimes, even me” 

“Even you???” that couldn't possibly be true, he never saw Nathaniel drop his pencil once. 

“Don't be so surprised, I'm not a superhuman like Ladybug and Chat Noir. I struggle too, even though yours is called specifically 'writer's block' I think” he brought his hand to his chin in thought “How long have you been writing?” 

“How long? I-I don't know, I've always been writing, since I have memory of it.” for what he knew he could've been born with pen and paper already in his hands.

“And this is your first time with a block?!?” Nathaniel asked, in disbelief. 

“I-is that bad???” Marc anxiously held onto his hoodie. 

“Nono, of course not! It's just, woah. You've been really lucky. Most artists experience it pretty soon, then have to deal with it periodically, me included. It mostly happened in the beginning for me actually.” 

“Really?” Marc was surprised “It doesn't look like it at all. And you've had some since the beginning? Even _mostly_ at the beginning? How?” he needed to know. Then he noticed Nathaniel's face and realized how rude his question actually was “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be rude! You don't have to answer!” 

“It's okay, don't worry” Nathaniel tried to calm him down “You see, I wasn't really confident when I started drawing. My works weren't so great, which is fine when you're a beginner, but I was so obsessed. I wanted my pictures to be perfect, the exact copy of what I imagined, and not being able to do that was... painful.” for a moment he looked really sad. It didn't sound too bad of a memory, but it sure was for him “I had long periods of block because of that, convinced that I would never be able to get as good as I wanted” Marc was ready to say how sorry he felt for him, but his friend surprised him again with a smile “The funny thing is that that same feeling gave me periods of great sprint, stubbornly demanding to get where I wanted” 

“That feeling gave you both strength and weakness then?” 

“We can put it that way, yeah. Now that I grew up, both mentally and artistically, I know when a goal is unrealistic and when I can actually work to get there. I also learned that art blocks are part of the process and that I can deal with them.” 

“I see. I still don't know how to get out of it though.” 

“That's okay, I didn't too my first time. But now I have more experience dealing with it, so I can help you out of it” the redhead said, bumping his fists on Marc's shoulder “That's what friends are for” he said before his friend could question his offering to help. 

Marc smiled “So, what should I do?” 

“I don't know, everyone works differently, really. What everybody has in common is that we need to stop trying to force ourselves and just drop it for a while. Then everybody does their things for a bit, it could be hours, days, all the time they need. Then get back at it refreshed.” Nathaniel raised his head and looked up at the same indefinite point where Marc was lost before “We just need to figure out what works for you.” 

“What do you usually do?” he asked with curiosity. 

“I usually go outside, take a walk. Better if it's a sunny day, and I try to relax. Observe people. The pro of living in a touristic city is that we get to see so much diversity, so many different people. It's interesting and distracting for a while. Sometimes I like to step by a bar, get a drink and sit down, still watching what goes on around me. Let me tell you, I saw weirder things than you might think!” he laughed. 

“I see” Marc looked pensive “Do you think it would work for me too?” 

Nathaniel quickly got up, careful not to hit his head on the underside of the stairs, and offered his friend a helping hand “Let's go find out” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I want to dedicate this work of writer/artist solidarity to all my artists friends. You're all awesome and I love you <3


End file.
